Unemployment continues to drop statewide

After a slight increase related to the federal shutdown in October, Washington’s unemployment rate declined again in November, to an estimated 6.8%.

At the same time, the state lost an estimated 6,000 jobs, according to the Employment Security Department.

“November typically is not a robust month for employment, so we weren’t expecting to see a big turnaround,” said Paul Turek, a labor economist for Employment Security. “The jobs data show there’s still some lingering weakness in the state’s labor market.”

Industries that reported job losses included government, manufacturing, and construction.

Washington added an estimated 34,600 jobs in the past year and has regained an estimated 78% of the 205,000 jobs lost in the recession.

In November, an estimated 235,200 people in Washington were unemployed and looking for work. That includes over 101,000 who claimed unemployment benefits last month.

Grays Harbor still had the highest unemployment in the state at 10.9% in October, with Pacific County at 10%.

County by county unemployment figures are set to be released next week.